1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an improved tool for handling flat cable and, in particular, to an improved system, method, and apparatus for installing and removing flexible flat cable into and out of, respectively, a protective sleeve or track for dynamic applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flexible flat cables have a plurality of electrical conductors that are molded inside a flexible, electrically insulative material or conduit. The conductors, which may be round or flat in cross-section, typically have very small dimensions and are spaced apart in a parallel configuration on narrow center-to-center spacings. These small dimensions place significant importance on handling or working with flat cables because the fragile conductors they contain are easily damaged. Because of the high cost of such flat cables, there must be assurance that the flat cable is not folded or crimped when it is handled during maintenance operations.
In some dynamic applications, such as high-speed robotic library pickers, flat cables are required to flex for millions of cycles without an electrical continuity failure or interruption. Under such conditions, the flat cables may be placed inside an elongated flexible sleeve or track in order to protect and extend the life of the flat cable. The sleeve typically has a rectangular cross-sectional profile that is similar to the shape of the flat cable. The sleeve controls the direction in which the flat cable can flex and the radius of curvature of the bend in the flat cable. Thus, the sleeve acts as an exoskeleton that further protects the flat cable.
Some sleeves do not fully envelop the flat cable, but are open on one side to permit the flat cable to be mounted in and removed from the sleeve. However, the small, fragile conductors in the flat cable can be damaged easily when the flat cable is placed in or taken out of the sleeve if the handling procedures are not performed carefully. Unfortunately, there are relatively frequent occasions in which handling of the flat cable is required after the flat cable is already installed in the sleeve. For example, the length of the flat cable and the sleeve may need to be altered, or a portion of the flat cable may need to be removed from the sleeve in order to change mounting hardware on the sleeve and/or flat cable. In addition, if only a small change is needed, or a change in only one end of the mounting hardware, it is laborious to completely remove all of the hardware from the flat cable and slide the entire flat cable out of the sleeve. For particularly long flat cables, this requires a significant amount of time and floor space to stretch out the entire flat cable. Thus, an improved system, method, and apparatus for installing and removing flexible flat cable into and/or out of a protective sleeve for dynamic applications is needed.